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Game Nineteen: Cubs (12-6) vs. Mets (10-7)
Game Time - 6:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: ESPN Monday Night Baseball, WCIU - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 174, 184
Location - Wrigley Field, Chicago
Carlos Zambrano (2-1, 3.04/1.12) vs. John Maine (1-1, 3.78/1.80)
Lou Piniella's crew opens a 2-game series tonight against one of the best teams in the National League....the New York Mets. Ron Santo's favorite team is coming off a big series in Philadelphia where they took 2 of 3 from the Phillies.
The Cubs offense has been clicking on all cylinders....26 runs in the past 2 games, but will face a big test tonight against one of the NL's elite teams....
Carlos Zambrano has started the season on a positve note and is coming off a good outing against the Reds. After dropping his first game of the year to the Phillies on April 11th, Zambrano bounced back and beat the Reds last Wednesday. The Cubs offense plated 12 runs and Zambrano held the Reds dangerous offense to only 2 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings with 5 strikeouts and a walk. The most impressive stat for Zambrano though his first 4 starts....23 strikeouts and 3 walks in 26 2/3 innings.
Carlos Zambrano is 3-1 in 6 career games, 5 starts, against the Mets with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP....last year, 1-0 in 2 starts with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP but with 10 walks and only 8 strikeouts.
- Carlos Beltran - 1-for-10 with a home run and 6 walks
- Luis Castillo - 5-for-10 with 6 walks
- Endy Chavez - 5-for-17 with a triple and a home run
- Ryan Church - 3-for-14 with 2 doubles
- Carlos Delgado - 3-for-13 with a home run and 6 walks
- Jose Reyes - 2-for-13 with a double
- Brian Schneider - 4-for-13 with 2 doubles
- David Wright - 2-for-11
After a rough first outing of the year, John Maine has turned in two good starts and most importantly his team has won both games. Maine allowed 1 run on 5 hits in 6 innings in a no decision against the Phillies on April 10th. Maine walked 5 and struck out just 1. He did pick up a win against the Nationals his last time out....2 runs on 5 hits in 6 2/3 innings with 4 walks and 4 strikeouts. Maine has walked 12 batters in 16 2/3 innings this season with just 10 strikeouts.
Maine is 0-2 in 4 career games, 3 starts, against the Cubs with a 5.17 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP....last season, 0-2 in 2 starts with a 10.57 ERA and a 2.22 WHIP in 7 2/3 innings.
- Reed Johnson - 2-for-3 with a double and a walk
- Mark DeRosa - 1-for-2
- Derrek Lee - 0-for-1 with 2 walks
- Aramis Ramirez - 2-for-8
- Ryan Theriot - 2-for-5 with a double
- Daryle Ward - 3-for-4 with 2 doubles
Let's Talk Cubs Baseball....
Trips to the Northside
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I think it goes without saying, but the last few days have been crazy....I mean, 26 runs in two games!!! That's more than I can ever remember.
I'm a little...actually a lot worried about the abuse our pen has taken with all the innings, and our starters----namely Hill, Marquis, and Lilly not going longer than 5 innings on average....and while we have the 2nd best record in all of baseball, let's all pray that our starters can start going longer than 6 innings. Actually, a few complete games would really go a long way right now.
I don't know if anyone else has looked at our averages, but almost everyone in our everyday lineup now has a .300 average.....and the decision to keep DeRosa at 2B appears to have paid dividends now instead of Roberts.
It will be interesting to see what happens when Soriano comes back. We're definitely playing better without him. Could we afford to trade him? He was killing us at the top.
Im worried about the pen too. But I think we've got some dependable arms in AAA to do some spot work if needed down the line.
Stevie Eyre if healthy and effective will be a nice shot in the arm.
Stick Soriano in the 6 hole when he comes back. No if ands or buts. Agreed?
Ask Shaun or Brian any day now; I'm sure they'll tell you THEY ARE EXCITED!!!! So am I...hell even Aaron!!
Hey Aaron I have been thinking, endlessly, the same thing about Soriano. I trully believe that he affects negatively this team on the workibg the pitch count department. However, our offense will not allways take 10 walks per day and needless to say that it is very hard to keep everybody with an avg. over .300 for the whole season. In other words Soriano will eventually heat-up and most likely will carry this team when others struggle.
I like the idea that he can't run because then there is an excuse to bat him 5th, or even 4th but no higher than that. A .275 avg. and 30hr in any of those two spots would be good enough for me. I am ready to let him know he will not be a lead-off ever again in this team and he needs to accept that prescise word...TEAM.
I don't care were he feels more comfortable...he HAS to adjust to the team needs. If any body disagrees because you think a player has to be were he likes...just ask Frank Robinson who is the responsible person for the contract Sori has today from the Cubs. Nobody would have paid that much for him as a second baseman...NO ONE.
So that is my 2cents
Let's get em Mets
This will be a good test of our team. The starters do need to step up. they are keeping us in games but only because we are scoring a lot of runs. Lets see what we do aganst a good pitching staff.
As far as Soriano, if we traded a player everytime they have a bad month we wouldn't have anybody left. He will heat up. But I agree that he shouldn't be in the leadoff spot. Just because his bat(when he heats up) will be more effective farther down in the batting order adn I don't like the attitude that he has to hit in the lead-off position. I'm not going to say its him because I haven't heard it from him. But he needs to learn to hit somewhere else. He's not going to have speed forever and these injuries he's had the last few years is an example of that. He needs to learn so that he can be an effective player in a few years and later.
Tonight's lineup:
Johnson - CF
Theriot - SS
Lee - 1B
Ramirez - 3B
Fukudome - RF
DeRosa - LF
Soto - C
Fontenot - 2B
Zambrano - P
Lineup Change:
Theriot was a late scratch
Johnson - CF
Fontenot - 2B
Lee - 1B
Ramirez - 3B
Fukudome - RF
DeRosa - LF
Soto - C
Cedeno - SS
Zambrano - P
wow...Z laying off that caffeine makes him look like that ace we crave!
Theriot scratched with lower back pain
Johnson really has been a solid pickup so far this season.
HAVE to make CONTACT on a hit and run Fontenot!
No Riot =(
Im glad everyone is hot though. Lots of hot bats to choose from.
Good job by Z and Soto to return the favor
I think Soto beat the throw
Z looks good. The D looks good. This looks like a traditional 2-1 or 3-2 game--with the winner manufacturing the winning run. (Oh yeah, we do the manufacturing.) The ESPN crew is obsessing on where to bat Soriano.
Great D.P. on Wrtght. Not the place for trade talk or takling to yourself, but I'd bat Soriano 5th for the Dodgers. We'd have Billingsley in the rotation and Ethier in left.
ARAMIS!!! 2-run homer to left center...5 straight games with a hit
Good sinker to work those dp's...
ESPN analysts are hilarious! They are talking about how bad Delgado's swing is and boom...solid base hit up the middle.
I "hoped" for Aram to get a few game winning hits in an earlier post today. This one would be SWEEEEEET--if it turns out to be so.
This is baseball!! Z throws ground balls and the infield D is outstanding. How about the right side, run down D.P.
WOW!! The 3-2 pitch to Wright was close.
We just saw an Ace doing the job for the Cubs. He gets past Soto's poor choice on the sacrifice and Wrights lucky call. Z kept his composure and got the third out. THE BANANAS ARE WORKING!!!
Great at bat by Fukudome.
Why does ESPN have to replay that game over and over again?
This ESPN announcing team is so boring
Enjoying the ESPN guys for once...
Gotta love Angel Hernandez....Nice 'F' and 'MF' bombs from DeRosa
Dero was 'furous'..
MSZ is amazing out there.
LOL Neil!
Solid ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ's!!!
I think Z should have bunted
I wanna take a quick poll here.
Do yall like Z's beloved blue unis?
Mr. Santana, Meet Mr. Zambrano! Thank you Z for 7 great ones. It's Marmol's turn now!
Sorry I'm late, it's my wifes Birthday.
Looking good so far.
Hey Jim!
Horrible at bat by DeRosa....tried to kill the ball.
Matt, I like the blue uni's.
Cedeno is battling at least, a lot better at bat than the last two guys. c'mon RC.
RC Cola!!!!!!!!! Woo-Hooo!!!!!
RONNY CEDENO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What another great at bat.
Has Ronny turned the corner?? Man that'd be nice. Way to go Cedeno!
There's still room on the RC Cola bandwagon guys! He's been taking a page out of the Fukudome playbook lately and it's paying off huge for him. He's definitely earning some quality PT with Soriano is out. Hopefully everyone can start learning from Kosuke!
WELCOME TO PRIME TIME PIE!
Man, whatever Lou and Perry showed Felix...
YES!!!
PIE!!!! What a great swing. Way to go Lou!
Felix Pie taking two pitches then hitting bombs!
Cedeno picks up DeRo and Soto. Will Ronny's confidnece go up or not. AND ISN'T IT GREAT TO HAVE TO Left Handed SLUGGERS COMING OFF THE BENCH!!
patient hitting... what a wonder....
The Cubs are 2nd in MLB in OBP..... i didnt think i would ever see that
NATION REPRESENT!
CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!
That sports fans was as good a Cubs' performance as I can remember in the last couple of years! It could have remained the 2-1 classic it was through 7. But the heroics continued with Cedeno's clutch hit (especially) and with Pie. Now our Cubs knows what it is capable of doing against a top team.
La Nacion Representa!
Los Cachorros Ganan! Los Cachorros Ganan!
That game was AWESOME!!! I was stressing out!
I think big Z is really in his prime and totally chilled through adversity and this year will be the year he gets respect.
GREAT ab by Fukudome and Cedeno...Pie...very nice. I almost teared up for the kid.
Great win for the Cubs considering all the talk that we haven't played anyone and if any of you watched the Mets/Phills game last night, the way the Mets were just showered with praise by Morgan and I forget the fat dude's name.
Sorry for the run on comments but i'm really excited about this club!
One thing I forgot if Angel Hernandez isn't one of the worst umps I don't know. His strike zone is unbelievably inconsistent and thats the worst kind...and i'm talking both ways...I thought the Mets got hosed more than once.
One of my funnier memories of Cub's lore was when Steve McMichael from the great 85 Bears was about to sing the 7th inning stretch and he totally called out Hernandez to the crowd for being horrible and Angel was just glaring up at the press box the entire time Steve sang, it was priceless!
Cory, the game you are referring to was back in 2001 if memory serves. Everytime I hear Angel's name, I think of that night. Remember the wild finish?
Looking good so far.
Lilly is not a #2...he never was. Even Mike Bielecki has a good year every now and then. I think Lilly is a 12-10 type of pitcher when it is all said and done. I worry about Dempster...so far so good, but I can easily see him getting a crisis of confidence. Marshall and Lieber do make good backup plans, whether due to injury or production. Marquis was always a decent starter for the regular season...the guy wins games more than he loses.
Career stat comparison:
Marquis 69-61 4.55 ERA (54 of those wins in last 4 seasons)
Lilly 74-69 4.53 ERA (52 of those wins in last 4 seasons)
Yet Lilly is so great and Marquis is so terrible? Perception is not always reality.
I still worry about Theriot at SS. Is Cedeno better defensively and offensively, when he has his head on straight? If Cedeno has shaken the AAA bug, I wouldn't be suprised to see him take over for a struggling Theriot at some point in the season, never to relinquish the starters role after that.
Has Lee returned to his 2005 form? What is Lee's true form? Is he the guy that hits 30 hrs and bats .280, or is he an MVP-caliber player that hits .320 with 40+ hrs?
Ramirez has been our most consistent player the last 4 years...he will have a good year.
I don't know what to make of Pie, but Reed Johnson is Bobby Dernier - a one year fix at best.
We will need Soriano when it is all said and done. I worry a bit that his wheels keep getting injured...is this guy in too good a shape, and his body wound up too tight?
Bullpen will be fine, as expected.
Questions are:
Soto - is he legit, and will he have a solid year?
Pie/Reed - will this suffice, or is this the obvious candidate for a mid-season trade?
DeRosa - will we revisit trade rumors with the Orioles in June?
There is no competition in the Central...none.
Only a few things in life are certain:
I do my taxes in April
Dusty Baker is wearing sweatbands
Ben Sheets is going to miss his next start
Go Cubs!
I like the RC bandwagon, if he puts it together, then sick. He has good range, a lil' pop, a strong arm...and well just talent...-_-;; DeRo at 2nd, him at SS, I don't really mind at this point.
LOL, Dusty and those damn sweatbands!
Man after the game my wife made me watch Juno...she thinks i'm in the can,
Neil, no I don't remember the end of that game...remind me sometime.
Jason B. from AZ, usually I dig your posts man but lighten up! That was a really big win for us...why so negative? No competition in the NL central? Dude the Cards and Brewers are pretty f'n good and you really think Houston, Cincinnati, and even the Pirates are gonna be a breeze? I hope you've just had too many old styles!
A sweep tomorrow gentleman would be monumental!
GO CUBBIES!
So the Cubs win 7-1 on the main ESPN stage, and we get posts like Jason B's. Sometimes I don't know why some posters here visit/stay on this site. Enjoy a really great win, and stop trying to dissect everything. My gosh...what's with you guys??
Cory/Bryan,
Which part was negative:
pointing out that Marquis, the much-maligned 5th starter is actually as good as Lilly, and will be a fine starter for the regular season.
wondering if D.Lee is returning to 2005 form
mentioning that Aramis is consistent and will have a good year
saying we need a healthy Soriano in the lineup
speculating that Cedeno may wind up a starter by the end of the year
The only things I was even remotely negative about were whether Soto (in his first full year) will be the real deal, and whether Pie/Johnson as a CF platoon is really a good thing.
From Corey Patterson in 2003, to Jason DuBois, to Ronny Cedeno, we have seen plenty of young players have a good half-year or good 2-month stretch, only to followup that promise with a poor year afterward. So wondering (not declaring) if Soto can keep it up is fairly legitimate.
As far as Pie/Johnson...I can't think of many platoon situations that truly work out well for a whole year. Last year it was the Floyd/Murton deal, and the lack of full-time at-bats didn't help either of them. In general, not playing everyday tends to stunt a player's growth, so you have to wonder about how Pie will hold up all year if he is constantly platooned.
If the whole point of a mssg board is to blindly spout undeserved optimism at every turn, then I guess I could understand your nonsensical comment about dissecting everything.
From now on, to appease your sensibilities, perhaps everyone should refrain from any discussions about the farm system, manager's decisions, injuries, slumps, season projections, analysis of other teams, etc...
Instead, we should all adopt the Bryan mantra of "hey...gee whiz...our team was on ESPN, so, like, everyone in the world was watching, and that makes me so happy that I just want to sing and not say anything but 'yay' a lot, so everyone else should be just like me and do the exact same thing"
I will also reiterate my position that there is no competition for the Cubs in the central. I say that because I believe the Cubs will win the Central handily. Is that optimistic enough for you? Teams stay good by always striving to improve and get better...not be getting content to sing their own praises on how great they are.
Sounds like a similar attitude of, I don't know, Greg Maddux maybe? But I guess you would tell Maddux to stop trying to dissect his pitching craft, and enjoy the fact that he won a Cy Young back in the early 90's, right?